Tag: Reggie Grimes

Former Sooners edge rusher Reggie Grimes commits to Memphis

The former defensive end for the Sooners committed to Memphis after a stint in the transfer portal.

Former Oklahoma Sooners football defensive end [autotag]Reggie Grimes II[/autotag] is going back to his home state to continue his college career. He committed to the Memphis Tigers late Sunday night.

Grimes hails from Brentwood, Tennessee and was a four-star prospect according to 247Sports in the 2020 recruiting class for Oklahoma. Grimes committed to [autotag]Lincoln Riley[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Grinch[/autotag] in late November of 2019, and spent four seasons as a Sooner, the last two of which were under the direction of [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag].

 

Grimes was a two year starter at defensive end for Oklahoma, and his best season came in 2022, when he tallied 4.5 sacks and nineteen tackles. He entered the transfer portal in December, after a redshirt year in 2023, and arrives in Memphis for head coach Ryan Silverfield with two years of eligibility remaining.

As it stands, the other former Sooners still searching for a home in the transfer portal are quarterbacks [autotag]General Booty[/autotag] and Jacob Switzer, linebackers [autotag]Shane Whitter[/autotag] and Konnor Near and tight end Hayden Bray.

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Oklahoma loses former defensive end starter to the transfer portal

The Oklahoma Sooners lose a former starting defensive end to the transfer portal.

Another former highly touted recruit for the Oklahoma Sooners hit the [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] on Monday. This time it was defensive end [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag].

Grimes spent four years in Norman; he tallied 43 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Grimes showed flashes, especially during the 2022 season when he was a starter.

He opened that season with four sacks and five tackles for loss. The only problem is he only had one-half sack and 2.5 tackles for loss the rest of the season. He lost his starting job to [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] this season and ended up playing in four games as a role player.

With Grimes only playing four games, he has two years of eligibility remaining for wherever he decides to transfer.

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Oklahoma Sooners 2023-2024 transfer portal tracker

Know who’s coming and going with our 2023-2024 Oklahoma Sooners Football transfer portal tracker.

The 2023-2024 transfer portal season is off and running, and we’ll help you keep track of all the movement here at Sooners Wire with our handy [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] tracker.

The Sooners have made a living off the transfer portal over the years. And while they will not be quarterback hunting in this year’s transfer portal season, the Sooners will have some areas they need to address.

Bryant Crews looked at five positions the Sooners should target in the transfer portal this offseason to supplement their ranks.

We’ll keep you updated with the transfer portal movement as it happens.

Updated: Dec. 18, 2023 at 11:00 a.m.

Reggie Grimes hopes to regain that magic from early last season

Reggie Grimes has become the forgotten man on Oklahoma’s defensive line, but he still wants to make an impact in 2023.

There may not have been an Oklahoma Sooners get off to a hotter start than [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] a season ago. Grimes had four sacks and five tackles for loss in the first two games.

The only problem is he finished the season with 4.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Grimes told reporters the new depth is going to help not only him but the position as a whole this upcoming season.

“There’s not a guy who is going to go out there and play 80 plays because we don’t have any depth,” Grimes said. “We have depth now. Everyone can get a bigger piece of the pie.”

Grimes is someone who’s been lost in the shuffle when you talk about the key contributors at the defensive end position. The additions of Rondell Bothroyd and Trace Ford, the development of R Mason Thomas, and the signing of five-star prospect Adepoju Adebawore have added what the coaches have termed, “competitive depth.”

Last season, there was no depth, and that might be why he fizzled out as the season went on.

He said while this is the closest the defense line has been since he arrived in Norman, it still means a ton to him to be the starter.

“On one end, you are competing against the guy, but on the other, you just love these guys so much,” Grimes said. “I know they’ll have my back if I need anything, and I’ll have their back if they need anything. You want to be the starter, you want to be the dude, but the main thing, you can’t let your brother’s success mean it’s a failure to you. They’re your brothers, so you have to celebrate that and respond with something.”

The question now is how big of a role Grimes will play. Could he be a starter for Oklahoma’s defensive line? Is he someone who can be a rotational player who plays well if you keep him fresh? I think he can and add more depth to a defensive line that was missing it a year ago.

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Oklahoma Sooners pass rush will be better in 2023

With added talent and more experience, the Oklahoma Sooners pass rush will be much better in 2023 than it was a year ago.

Among the many issues the Oklahoma Sooners ran into when they entered Big 12 play was the dropoff of their pass rush. In a defense predicated on pressure, the Sooners finished tied for 64th in the nation with 2.15 sacks per game. Much of that success came in their nonconference, when the Sooners defense was looking pretty good. Once they entered Big 12 play, the pass rush was a different story.

The losses of [autotag]Nik Bonitto[/autotag], [autotag]Isaiah Thomas[/autotag], and [autotag]Perrion Winfrey[/autotag] were felt up front as Oklahoma broke in several new starters along the defensive line.

There was solid play from guys like [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], who got off to a hot start to the season, and [autotag]Ethan Down[/autotag]s, who closed the season strong. However, the play from their defensive line was inconsistent, and that was felt throughout the back seven.

With Downs and Grimes returning, along with other prominent fixtures in the defensive line rotation like [autotag]Isaiah Coe[/autotag] and [autotag]Jordan Kelley[/autotag], there’s hope that the Sooners’ pass rush will be improved this year.

[autotag]R Mason Thomas[/autotag] showed flashes last fall, as did [autotag]Gracen Halton[/autotag] in the spring. Both Thomas and Halton play with incredible quickness that they can create pressure in a hurry.

With more experience and another year of development, Oklahoma’s key returners along the defensive line will play a big part in the Sooners’ pressure resurgence.

But the Sooners’ coaching staff didn’t sit on their hands and assume the defensive front would develop. Brent Venables and his crew attacked the transfer portal with the same intensity that he coaches.

Oklahoma Added four defensive tackles in [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], [autotag]Phillip Paea[/autotag], and [autotag]DaJon Terry[/autotag]. They also added defensive ends [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag]. [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], who figures to factor in at Cheetah, played EDGE for Indiana in 2022 and accumulated four sacks as a true freshman. In Bothroyd, Ford, and McCullough, the Sooners added 28 career sacks to their defensive end room.

Then there are the incoming freshmen like [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag], [autotag]Taylor Wein[/autotag], [autotag]Ashton Sanders[/autotag], and [autotag]Markus Strong[/autotag]. Adebawore is the five-star edge rusher that is long and super athletic. Wein flew under the radar until late in his senior year, but he’s also a very good athlete in his own right. Sanders and Strong offer good size and athleticism in the middle and can be disruptive. It only remains to be seen how quickly the freshmen can acclimate and help add to the Sooners’ depth along the defensive front.

If there’s truly strength in numbers, the Oklahoma Sooners have turned what was a weakness a year ago into a strength ahead of the 2023 football season. The talent added to the development they had in-house will be a big reason why the Oklahoma Sooners improve from the six-win team they were a year ago.

The Sooners raised their talent floor along the defensive line for 2023. Although we won’t be able to truly evaluate the pass rush until they get into Big 12 play, and the Texas game in particular, this team has added talent to rush the passer. They’ve raised the talent floor, minimizing any dropoff the Sooners might see from their starters to their rotational guys. That improved talent and more experience will help Oklahoma win on the rush a lot more frequently than it did in 2023.

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Oklahoma’s defensive line needs to make a significant jump in 2023

For the Sooners to improve defensively in 2023, Oklahoma’s defensive line will have to make significant improvements.

It’s no secret a big reason the Oklahoma Sooners didn’t achieve what they wanted to last year was the defense. The Sooners finished 106th in run defense, 119th in pass defense and 122nd in total defense.

A big reason those numbers were so horrific was how poor the defensive line was last season. It couldn’t generate a pass rush, and it struggled to get off blocks and make stops in the run game.

It’s clear the staff recognized the issues from last year and attacked the transfer portal, hoping to improve the defensive front. The big priority over the last few recruiting classes has been to add blue-chip defensive linemen.

The Sooners added six players from the transfer portal: Jacob Lacey, Trace Ford, Davon Sears, Rondell Bothroyd, Da’Jon Terry and Phillip Paea. Throw in Dasan McCullough, who played edge for Indiana in 2022, and the Sooners made a concerted effort to add players that can affect the running game and get to the quarterback.

Each of those additions should contribute this year, and a few might even start. The transfer portal is not the only place where the Sooners added talent. They also added five-star P.J. Adebawore.

He might not be a starter immediately, but he has the potential to start by the season’s end. The team also returns starters Isaiah Coe, Ethan Downs and Reggie Grimes.

A guy that played quite a bit last season as a true freshman and is poised for a breakout season is R Mason Thomas. He’s added weight and appears to have kept his speed and twitch.

The starting defensive line could be Thomas, Coe, Terry and Bothroyd when the Sooners deploy four-man fronts. When they go with a three-man front, it could be Thomas or Downs, Terry and Bothroyd until Adebawore becomes more comfortable.

There’s no doubt the Sooners needed to upgrade the defensive line. Now we’ll see if the results follow.

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Oklahoma Sooners inside Athlon Sports post-spring top 25

Oklahoma Sooners included in Athlon Sports post-spring top 25.

“Don’t call it a comeback, I been here for years.” Those are the lyrics of the great LL Cool J from his hit “Mama said knock you out.” They feel apt for the Oklahoma Sooners months ahead of the 2023 college football season.

After Oklahoma’s first losing season since 1998, one would think the expectations would change for the Sooners, but in preseason power rankings, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Oklahoma is projected to be a top 25 team when they open the 2023 season in September.

Though it was a rough go-round in Brent Venables first year as a head coach, that doesn’t change the reality that Venables is one of the best defensive minds in college football. He’s proven it several times over the last two decades and there’s little doubt he and the Sooners won’t improve from their 2022 season.

Count Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports as a believer in Oklahoma’s bounce-back season. He’s got the Sooners at No. 16 in Athlon Sports post-spring top 25.

Year 1 for Brent Venables in Norman didn’t go according to plan, as the Sooners posted their first losing season (6-7) since 1998. However, a wide-open Big 12 and a roster returning 12 starters — including quarterback Dillon Gabriel — should be enough for Oklahoma to return to Big 12 title contention. The Sooners lost their top two receivers and both starting tackles on the offensive line, but a deep backfield should help stabilize the offense. Venables hit the portal hard to help a defense that allowed 30 points per game last fall, and those reinforcements, combined with another year in the scheme, should equal some improvement. Also, Oklahoma is due for a little better luck after losing five games by seven points or fewer in ’22. – Lassan, Athlon Sports

Oklahoma’s returning arguably their most-important players from a year ago in [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] and Danny Stutsman. The two provide important continuity on both sides of the ball as leaders of their respective units.

Gabriel will be working with an offense that’s expecting [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] to take a step and a running back tandem to replace [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag]. As we await answers to the questions on the offensive side of the ball, the Sooners can feel confident in their offense because they have one of the best quarterbacks in the conference manning the helm.

In just his first season as a starter, [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] was incredibly productive, leading the Big 12 in tackles. He was an iron man, playing nearly 1,000 snaps. Though he lost linebacker running buddies [autotag]David Ugwoegbu[/autotag] and [autotag]Dashaun White[/autotag], Stutsman and the Sooners are expected to make improvements with another offseason in the scheme and an influx of talent through the transfer portal.

Presumably, joining Stutsman in the starting lineup at linebacker are [autotag]Jaren Kanak[/autotag] and [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], who bring elite athleticism and speed to the position to help make Oklahoma a faster football team. Oklahoma also added Rondell Bothroyd and Trace Ford to their defensive end rotation to help provide improved pass rush. They’ll work in a rotation along with Ethan Downs, R Mason Thomas, [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], [autotag]Marcus Stripling[/autotag], and five-star newcomer [autotag]Adepoju Adebawore[/autotag].

If Oklahoma can improve its pass rush from what it was in 2022, it’ll be a drastically improved football team in 2023.

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Can transfer portal additions fix the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense?

The Sooners were aggressive in the defensive transfer portal market, but will that be enough to right the ship of Oklahoma’s defense?

Year one in Norman of the [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] era didn’t go the way many expected. Particularly on the defensive side of the football.

It was a team that looked really good in nonconference wins over UTEP, Kent State, and Nebraska, only to flounder when they got to Big 12 play. The Sooners allowed an average of 34.7 points per game against Big 12 opponents and Florida State over their final 10 games.

Over at CBS Sports, Shehan Jeyarajah asked asked one question for each of the Big 12 schools, and for the Sooners, everything comes back to the defense. Jeyarajayh asks, “can the transfer portal fix the defense?”

Sooners coach [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] leaned heavily on the transfer portal in his first season, ultimately flipping 40% of the roster. Results were decidedly disastrous as Oklahoma went 6-7, its worst record since 1998, the year before Bob Stoops took over. The defense was perhaps the worst of Venables’ career, too, finishing No. 122 in total defense behind FIU, Louisiana-Monroe and Hawaii.

Oklahoma brought in an elite defensive recruiting class, finishing No. 4 in the high school composite rankings, but it will once again rely on transfers to fill major holes. Two defenders — safety Reggie Pearson and defensive lineman [autotag]Trace Ford[/autotag] — come from Big 12 opponents (Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, respectively). Defensive lineman [autotag]Davon Sears[/autotag] moves up from Texas State, while linebacker [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag] ranked as one of the best players in the portal. Oklahoma finished bottom-30 nationally in both rushing and passing defense despite ranking among the league leaders in both interceptions and sacks. Havoc plays won’t save Oklahoma; the Sooners need a full-scale upgrade. – Jeyarajah, CBS Sports

In addition to McCullough, Pearson, Ford, and Sears, the Sooners added [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] and [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag] to their defensive front. Veteran players that will factor into the defensive line rotation immediately. Bothroyd comes over from Wake Forest with great production over the last two seasons.

In 2021 and 2022, Bothroyd had 93 total tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks. He’s a player that can play defensive end in multiple fronts and can play defensive tackle in pass-rushing situations as well. With his production, Bothroyd could have gone to the NFL and been drafted in the top 100-150 players in 2023.

But it isn’t just the transfer portal additions that will make this team better in 2023. Many of the guys returning were playing significant roles or starting for the first time in 2022. Guys like [autotag]Ethan Downs[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], and [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] were all first-time starters last season.

It was also a new system for those guys last year. Heading into year two of the Brent Venables era, they have an opportunity to build on their experiences from the 2022 season. Everything that happened in 2022, the good and the bad, were valuable experiences for a defense that isn’t simply looking to be good but to be great.

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How talented is the Oklahoma Sooners roster ahead of 2023?

According to recruiting rankings over the last 5 years, the Sooners should have one of the best rosters in 2023. But is that an accurate reflection of this roster?

We heard in the build-up to last season that the Oklahoma Sooners had one of the more talented rosters in the country. People (including me) pointed to that analysis as to why Oklahoma should be a contender in 2022. Some (not me) pointed to that analysis as to why 2022 was a coaching failure.

Based on recruiting rankings over the last five years, the Oklahoma Sooners should have one of the best rosters in college football. Based on recruiting rankings from the last five cycles, the Sooners have the eighth-best roster ahead of 2023. Brad Crawford of 247Sports explains:

Recruiting is the lifeblood of any successful program, and that’s no different at Oklahoma, a blue-blood accustomed to winning big. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen in Year 1 under coach Brent Venables, who came over to the Sooners following a lengthy tenure as Clemson’s top recruiter on staff under Dabo Swinney. The arrival of three five-stars in the 2023 recruiting cycle, however, is going to be a shot in the arm for Oklahoma prior to the school’s entry to the SEC in 2024. According to 247Sports’ recruiting rankings, Oklahoma has the second-most talented roster in the Big 12. You can probably guess who owns the league’s most lethal collection of talent. – Crawford, 247Sports

Oklahoma and Brent Venables have done a lot over the last two recruiting cycles to bring in talent from both the high school and transfer portal ranks. But as we saw last year when Oklahoma supposedly had one of the better rosters according to high school recruiting evaluations, it didn’t pan out to wins.

That doesn’t mean the analysis or rationale is wrong. The top of the list is carried by Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State, three teams that most would argue are the most talented teams in the country.

But given the turnover that Oklahoma’s undergone since Venables has taken over, do recruiting rankings prior to the coaching change accurately reflect the talent on the Sooners’ roster?

Oklahoma’s last two recruiting classes were strong, but there aren’t a lot of players left over from the three recruiting classes prior to Brent Venables’ arrival.

Oklahoma had the No. 4 recruiting class in 2019 on the strength of the signings of [autotag]Spencer Rattler[/autotag], [autotag]Jadon Haselwood[/autotag], [autotag]Trejan Bridges[/autotag], and [autotag]Theo Wease[/autotag]. All four of those players are gone. [autotag]Andrew Raym[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag], and [autotag]Nate Anderson[/autotag] are the top players remaining from the 2020 class but haven’t ascended into star players for the Sooners just yet.

The top three players in the 2021 class, [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag], [autotag]Clayton Smith[/autotag], and [autotag]Mario Williams[/autotag], are gone as well.

So, while the recruiting at Oklahoma has been good, the strength of the Sooners’ recruiting classes from 2019-2021 isn’t reflected on the 2023 roster. Given the amount of roster turnover that Oklahoma has undergone since Venables has taken over, these “talent rankings” don’t adequately reflect where Oklahoma is as a roster right now unless you look strictly at the last two recruiting classes.

But that doesn’t mean this isn’t a group capable of reasserting the Sooners as Big 12 contenders. Oklahoma brought in one of the best transfer portal classes in the first phase of the portal. Specifically, on the defensive side of the ball, the Sooners brought in several impact players. [autotag]Dasan McCullough[/autotag], [autotag]Reggie Pearson[/autotag], [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag], and [autotag]Rondell Bothroyd[/autotag] could all start for the Sooners, but at least will play significant roles for the Sooners.

Brent Venables and his staff have added talent over the last two offseasons. They have a better roster than they did a year ago, especially on the defensive side of the ball. There’s optimism that will reveal itself on the field in a wide-open Big 12 in 2023.

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Sooners land top EDGE in the transfer portal in Dasan McCullough

Oklahoma landed the commitment of Dasan McCullough, the nation’s best EDGE transfer in the portal. From @thatmanbryant

The Oklahoma Sooners added talent to their defense on Monday night with the commitment of Dasan McCullough. McCullough transfers in from Indiana, where he played a lot for the Hoosiers as a true freshman.

McCullough is ranked as No. 9 overall and is the No. 1 EDGE in the portal per 247Sports.

McCullough put together a really good freshman season for the Hoosiers in which he was named a Freshman All-American midseason by The Athletic and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.

McCullough racked up 49 total tackles, four sacks, and 6.5 tackles for loss. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, he has a great frame with length to be a problem on the edge for opposing offensive lines.

Oklahoma was at the front of the line the moment he entered his name into the portal due to the connection cornerbacks coach Jay Valai has with McCullough’s father. Deland, who now coaches Notre Dame’s running backs spent time together with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here’s what Jacob Rude of the “Locked On Hoosiers” podcast had to say about Dasan McCullough.

He’s a versatile, uber-athletic player. When John Garcia (Sports Illustrateds director of national recruiting) came on to talk about him, he called him a “monster back” which is a phrase I love. In high school, he played safety but I’m not sure he can do that in college. He split time between LB and as an edge rusher this year, mainly the latter. He played a LOT as a true freshman which is both an indictment on how bad IU is and how good he is. I’d say an edge rusher is probably his best fit long-term, but he’s athletic enough that I could see him playing more LB down the road and definitely in passing situations. He can get into the backfield and disrupt plays and pressure the QB. Really a special talent that is going to make an impact right away anywhere. – Rude, Locked On Hoosiers

Josh Pate from the Late Kick show shared his thoughts on Dasan McCullough.

 

The commitment gives the Sooners a high upside, a bonafide playmaker at a position they needed impact players from. To combine McCullough with All Big-12 second team’s Ethan Downs and Reggie Grimes and the lightning-quick R Mason Thomas, the Sooners have upgraded their defensive end room.

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